Parker St. Sauveur, 3, at left, and her twin sister Olive St. Sauveur sled down a hill in the falling snow on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2012, at Eldora Mountain Resort.
(Jeremy Papasso / Daily Camera)

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The snow didn't start falling in Boulder County as early as expected Wednesday, instead arriving late in the afternoon -- just in time to bog down the evening commute and leave enough on the ground to complicate Thursday morning's drive to work as well.

By 9 p.m. Wednesday, 2.8 inches of snow had fallen in Boulder, according to meteorologist Matt Kelsch. He expected another 3 inches or so overnight, with most of Boulder County getting between 4 and 7 inches.

The National Weather Service only had forecast 3 inches total overnight.

The snowfall -- rare this winter -- was enough to put the city of Boulder on accident alert at 6:16 p.m., meaning drivers involved in minor, non-injury accidents were asked to exchange information rather than wait for a police response.

The snow was forecast to likely continue through 11 a.m. Thursday, with less than half an inch expected to accumulate this morning. The chance of snow should drop to about 20 percent Thursday night.

Snow began falling in Denver around 3 p.m. Wednesday, and some parts of the metro area could see as much as 7 inches of new snow by Thursday morning. The areas south and east of the metro area are expected to see the most snow.

A winter weather advisory has been posted by the weather service for the Denver metro area through 9 a.m. Thursday.

After this storm clears out, snow is not expected again until late Saturday night and into Sunday.

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